Confronting Trepidation

Before the sky began to enlighten, I was in a stage of profound rest where the mind and body restores after a grueling basketball practice. Suddenly, I felt an immense pain from my left calf. Right away, I knew it was cramping, but it wasn’t like ones I experienced before. The pain shocked an intense grip that lasted for two suffering minutes until it eventually faded away. The cramp left a soreness on my calf that unveiled my impending fear of injury. As a student athlete, injuries not only pain me physically, but cause a significant mental toll as well.

I chose to dip my head into the sand like an ostrich, doing nothing for recovery except a glass of water. While playing basketball, the soreness haunted me until my friend showed up like a ray of light at the end of my tunnel. He taught me stretches which relieved the toll basketball took on my calves.

Intrigued by rehabilitation, I used the portals of the internet to research. There, I learned that most athletes return to pre- injury level. Further down this rabbit hole, I was comforted with information on how to mitigate injuries. It’s mind- boggling how a simple calf cramp taught me the resilience of facing fears. it. It also serves as a reminder that our most valuable commodity is the people around us.